Retractible parachute launcher



A. J. TU CCI RETRACTIBLE PARACHUTE LAUNCHER Sept. 4, 1962 Filed June 10, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Arthur J. Tucci 1N VENTOR.

Sept. 4, 1962 A. J. Tuccl 3,052,434

I RETRACTIBLE PARACI-IUTE LAUNCHER Filed June 10, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Arthur J 77/001 26 IN VENTOR.

Sept. 4, 1962 A. J. TUCCl RETRACTIBLE PARACHUTE LAUNCHER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 10, 1959 Arthur J 71101:?

INVENTOR. @161".

United States Patent f 3,052,434 RETRACTBIJE PARACIIUTE LAUNQHER Arthur .I. Tucci, Poland, Ohio (1234 Market St, Long Beach 5, Calif.) Filed June 10, 1959, Ser. No. 819,460 7 Claims. (Cl. 244-155) This invention relates to a device for launching parachutes and the like from a kite string.

An object of the invention is to provide an amusement device wherein a kite string is used as a rail for the motion of a carriage on which there is a separably connected parachute to which a figurine is connected. The carriage together with its parachute are moved up the kite string by means of wind pressures, and the structural arrangement between the parachute and the carriage is such that upon a whipping motion applied to the kite string, the parachute is separated from the carriage and drops to the ground.

The invention provides structural improvements in the carriage, the parachute, the manner of attaching the figurine to the parachute and the way that the parachute is separably connected with the carriage.

It is appreciated that it is old in this art to use the kite string as a rail and to have a toy or other amusement device operatively connected with the kite string. However, a majority of such devices sever a connection between the device that is dropped, and all of the devices of which I am aware fail to meet the specifications of manufacturing economy and the uniqueness in the structural organization of this amusement device, plus the manner in which the device is operated.

Therefore, it is a further object of the invention to provide structural refinements in amusement devices of the type which operate on a kite string by travelling on the rail formed by the kite string and dropping an object at some place along the length of the kite string.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the amusement device showing it in use.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the parachute being dropped from the carriage.

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective View of all of the parts of the amusement device.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective View of the carriage and means for connecting the parachute to the carriage.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale and taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on a vertical plane containing the line 6-6 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 5 and showing one of the jaws of the spring-loaded clamp that separably connects the parachute with the carriage.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of a modification.

FIGURE 9 is another fragmentary elevational view of a modification.

In the accompanying drawings reference is first made to FIGURES 1 and 2. Kite It is illustrated, and the kite, being conventional, has a kite string 12 held by a boy while the kite is in flight. The kite string functions as a rail for amusement device 14. As shown by a dotted line representation, amusement device 14 is started near the boy and travels by wind forces up the ice kite string toward kite It. This aerona'utic phenomena is known in the art. FIGURE 2 shows how the amusement device is made to drop the parachute thereof. The boy simply whips the string .12 causing it to snap or jerk the amusement device 14. The parachute is separated from the carriage in response to this movement.

Amusement device 14 is constructed of three major components. There is a carriage 16, a. clamp 18 and parachute 2d. The parachute 20 has an eye 22 at the center thereof and attached to a reinforcing patch 24 at the center of the partially spherical parachute. The parachute may be made of lightweight flexible material, for instance, silk or other cloth or plastic. Figurine 26 is also made of lightweight material, for instance plastic or lightweight wood or other substances, and it is supported in what is considered to be a novel manner. There are four springs, strings or cords 28, 30 32 and 34 attached to the ends of the outstretched arms of the figurine and to the front and rear of the body of the figlrine. These springs or strings 28 may be made of plastic, and the upper ends thereof are hooked to eyes 36 at the pe riphery of the parachute.

Clamp 1% is made of very light flat plate 38 which has a T-shaped notch 40 opening through the lower edge thereof. This notch is adapted to receive rings or eye 22. A pair of jaws 42 and 4-4- are spring-loaded to the closed position, which is the normal or rest position for the jaws. Each jaw is constructed identically (FIG- URE 7). A typical jaw 42, is made of a lightweight spring 4%, and here again, the spring may be made of plastic substance. One end of the spring is disposed on shoulder 59 at the inner extremity of an arm 52 that projects inwardly toward the center line of notch 4%. Ann 52 has an L-shaped slot 54 opening through the 0 upper surface thereof, with which a short transverse bar 56 is engaged. This bar is made a part of shank 58 to which the wedge-shaped jaw member 60 is fixed. Spring 48 seats on the jaw member, and the bias of spring 48 is in a direction tending to extend jaw member 60 toward the center line of notch 10. Inasmuch as jaw 44 is identical in construction, both jaws are spring pressed to the closed position, but they are capable of being moved to an open position by a pulling force applied to the parachute which is transmitted to ring or eye 22 that rests in the upwardly opening crotch 64 formed by the angulated upper surfaces of both of the jaw members of jaws 42 and 44.

Carriage I6 is assembled from a number of plates. There are identical outer plates 68 and 70 together with identical inner plates 72 and 74. The outer plates fit flush against the outer surfaces of inner plates 72 and 74 and are held assembled by three pins 76, 78 and 8G or the like which pass through three groups of aligned apertures. The lowermost group of apertures 81, 82, 83 and 84 are also aligned with aperture 85 and flat plate 3%. lowermost pin 76 extends through the lowermost group of apertures and also through aperture 85' thereby mechanically connecting clamp 18 to the carriage I6. Heads 87, 88 and 89 are on one end of the pins 76, 78 and 80, the caps 90, 91 and 92 are frictionally held or cemented or otherwise attached to the opposite ends of the three pins. If bolts are used, caps 90, 91 and 92 are substituted by nuts or other types of conventional fasteners.

The confronting surfaces of the inner plates 72 and '74 have confronting recesses 93 and 94- which cooperate to form a pocket 95 within which a pair of pulleys 96 and 97 are mounted for rotation. These pulleys employ pins 73 and 80 as spindles, and there are spacers 98, 99 on opposite faces of pulley 96, and spacers (e.g. washers) 100 and 1&2 on the opposite faces of pulley 97. All of the spacers are mounted on the two pins 80 and 78 and fit Within pocket 95, as do pulleys 96 and 97. However, the recesses 94- and 93 have open lateral edges so that the kite string 12 may be passed through the space 104 between the pulleys thereby holding carriage 16 captive on the kite string.

The use and operation of the amusement device has already been mentioned previously. In recapitulation, carriage 16 isslipped onto the rail formed by kite string 12 by putting the kite string through space 104. Clamp 18 is mechanically connected to the carriage by having the upper edge of the plate 38 fit within the down-wardly opening recess 106 that is formed at the lower part of the plates 72 and 7 4 and by having pin 76 pass through aperture 85 thereof. Ring or eye 22 is snapped between the normally closed jaws thereby holding the parachute 20 plus figurine 2'6 fastened to the carriage.

The wind action moves the amusement device 14 up the kite string. Anywhere along the length of the kite string which suits the user is the point of discharge for the parachute. This is made so by having the user simply snap the kite string causing a ripple to move up the kite string (FIGURE 2) and shake the carriage, clamp and parachute when it reaches the carriage. This shaking of the carriage causes a reaction in the parachute which separates ring 22 from the normally closed jaws and enables it to float to the ground.

As shown in FIGURE 3, figurine 26 has a hanger 27 made by a U-shaped rod straddling the legs of the figurine. The purpose of the hanger is to provide means by which to coup-1e one or more figurines thereto by hooking into hanger 27 and thereby forming an articulate connection between figurines.

FIGURES 8 and 9 show flexible beaded chain 28:: and link chain 28b respectively which can be made of light weight plastic or metal or any suitable material. They may be used in place of the springs 28, 30, 32 and 34 which couple the figurine to the parachute chains 28a and 28b, like the springs, are ilexible elongate members.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is "claimed as new is as follows:

1. An amusement device adapted for use with a kite string, said amusement device comprising a carriage and a parachute, said carriage having a pocket therein with open ends and through which the kite string is adapted to pass thereby holding the carriage captive on the kite string but enabling the carriage to move up the kite string and down the kite string, a clamp connected with said carriage, normally closed jaws included in said clamp for separably attaching the parachute thereto, said parachute having a member separably engaged with said normally closed clamp whereby upon snapping the kite string the normally closed clamp is opened by the weight of the parachute thereby separating said member from said normally closed clamp, and resilient means reacting on said jaws and yieldingly holding said jaws in the closed position, said carriage including a pair of carriage plates, pins, said carriage plates having apertures through which said pins extend for securing said plates together in spaced, opposed relation, a pair of pulleys mounted for rotation on said pins in a common vertical plane in the pocket, said pulleys having string engaging surfaces spaced apart to provide a space through which the kite string passes.

2. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said clamp includes a plate secured between said carriage plates the second named plate having a notch therein for receiving said member, and said resilient means and said jaws carried by said second named plate and operable in the notch, said jaws having upwardly directed angulated surfaces forming a crotch within which to receive the member.

3. A toy comprising a carriage having means supporting it on a kite string and including a vertical plate having a downwardly extending notch therein open at its bottom, said plate including longitudinally aligned arms projecting into the bottom of the notch and terminating in spaced relation to each other, a pair of springclosed jaws slidable on the arms towards and away from each other, said jaws including opposed, oppositely and upwardly inclined faces, a loaded parachute, and a ring on the parachute adapted to rest on said inclined jaw faces for detachably suspending said parachute from the plate, the inertia of the loaded parachute causing said ring to react with a force against said cam surfaces with sufficient force to cause the cam surfaces to separate and release said ring and parachute when a generally vertically extending wave is created in said string by a whipping motion at its free end.

4. A trolley in combination with and supporting a. releasable load on a kite string comprising a rigid body, a pulley rotatably mounted on a substantially horizontal axis on the upper portion of said body, means rigidly secured on the trolley separate from the pulley and on both sides of said string for preventing the string from moving laterally elf of the lower surface of the pulley, two normally abutting members carried on the lower portion of said body, weak spring means on the body normally urging the members into abutting relation, at least one of said members movably extending across and closing a notch in a lower edge of said body and having a cam surface extending upwardly towards the notch from its abutting end, said load having a support extending over the abutting surfaces of said members and supported on said cam surface whereby the inertia of said load will cam the abutting surfaces apart for releasing said support when a vertical wave created in the string moves the trolley which creates a force on said cam caused by the inertia of said support and load.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein a string engaging member is connected to said body adjacent said pulley, said string extending between said pulley and said string engaging member whereby said wave may react against both said pulley and said string engaging member.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said string engaging member comprises a second pulley and said load includes a parachute.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the one member closing the notch is slidable back and forth on an arm fixed to said body, said arm extending toward said notch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 692,998 Fletcher Feb. 11, 1902 1,340,259 Taylor May 18, 1920 1,484,775 Haight Feb. 26, 1924 1,816,814 Ater Aug. 4, 1931 2,279,152 Whitehurst Apr. 7, 1942 2,464,720 Rose Mar. 15, 1949 2,473,213 Nissen June 14, 1949 1 2,480,948 Moon Sept. 6, 1949 2,785,871 Flint et al. Mar. 19, 1957 2,936,545 Enterkin May 17, 1960 2,950,886 Graham et al Aug. 30, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 9,638 Great Britain May 9, 1891 

